The UK has commended Vietnam’s strong development in the face of global downturn but warned that more efforts would still be needed.
A Consultative Group Meeting being held from December 7-8 in Hanoi addressed the current state of development in Vietnam. At this meeting, the UK Government also expressed their hope to know more information from the Vietnamese Government in three particular areas which are macro-economic management, poverty reduction - social protection, and better governance.
Regarding macro-economic management, the UK Government said it would encourage the Government of Vietnam to take concrete steps to fight inflation and restore macro-economic stability, such as tightening monetary and fiscal policies, adopting a more flexible exchange rate system, and releasing quality and timely data.
In the field of poverty reduction and social protection, they asked for a clear vision of continued poverty reduction in the Vietnamese Government\'s plans for the next five years to ensure the poor and vulnerable are protected in Vietnam’s next phase of development. A more focused effort from the Vietnamese Government in tackling poverty, including by providing less fragmented, more targeted programmes, increasing the participation of the poor in devising their own solutions, and devising a new approach to fighting stagnant poverty among ethnic minorities was also addressed.
In addition, the UK would want to see the Vietnamese Government’s stated aim to timely adopt and solidify plans to fight corruption in land administration, where the poor lose the most and the state loses revenue too. They said they would encourage a renewed commitment from the Government of Vietnam to promote transparency and access to information, including issuing progressive Media and Access to Information Laws, to ensure further economic and social development.
The UK and Vietnam will continue to work closely to deliver the new Strategic Partnership which was agreed to in September, 2010, during Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem’s visit to London. The Strategic Partnership sets out a broad framework for political, trade and technical co-operation and includes the 10 year Development Partnership Arrangement (DPA, 2006-16).
The UK Government is currently reviewing the DPA at the midpoint with Government of Vietnam, taking into account new factors including Vietnam’s new Middle Income country status, and hope to agree to shape the final five years of the DPA in the first quarter of 2011.
The UK, through the Department for International Development, has provided over £378 million grant aid to Vietnam through our bilateral programme since 1992. In addition, since 2006 nearly £19 million in debt relief has been granted to Vietnam through the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative for humanitarian efforts. Their areas of focus include millennium development goals, growth and trade, governance, and climate change
